In the wake of the atrocious reports of cruelty against juvenile inmates at Banksia Hill, prison guards have welcomed a substantial pay rise.

As Gary Adshead pointed out on 6PR Mornings, that and a similar pay increase for nurses bucks the trend of Labor’s uniform public sector pay policy, and has been met by a puzzling denial of motivation by Premier Roger Cook.

Press PLAY to hear more about the landmark pay increases for nurses and prison guards

Community and Public Sector Union WA Secretary told Gary retention of staff has been a “huge issue” contributing to the ongoing issues at Banksia Hill and similar detention centres.

“This salary re-classification will assist us in employing enough staff to run the centres adequately,” Ms Hendon said.

Similarly, and despite Roger Cook’s claims they’re not necessarily “pay rises”, Australian Nurses Federation State Secretary Janet Reah told Gary they were just glad there would be more economic support for the often-undermined industry.

“I’m not sure why they’re downplaying it unless they want to stymie the hopes of anyone else crying out for a 12 per cent pay rise,” Ms Reah said.

Press PLAY to hear the ANF’s response to the news